happy holidays i'm julie haener. each year at this time we showcase the talent and creativity of our photo journalists. through their lens they bring us the spirit of the season. we're here at christmas in the park in san jose not far from where our first story takes place. the tragedy prompted a south bay family to give rather than receive. joe and judy santiago set out to spread holiday cheer with

just a box of candy canes. 29 years later the santiago's generosity continues to grow. >> we need one more. >> oh, gosh, what a deal. >> can you check if we have more of these in the back. >> we have this down to a science now. >> a little girl would be happy with a pink monkey. >> we keep track of them. >> by boys and girls, by age, by year. >> three, two, one. >> yay. >> the gifts we give out are from infants to 14 years old. >> last year we had 15 carts loaded up with gifts. >> you people are so awesome we really appreciate this. >> the kids just love meeting santa. >> he's excited to meet santa claus right now. >> ho, ho, ho, merry christmas. >> the family gets their picture taken with santa.

>> big smiles, there you go. >> merry christmas family. >> are you going to ask me what i want for christmas? >> yes, what do you want for christmas. >> a monster truck, a real one. >> we have probably like 500 children. >> start out with five right now. >> my grandma, she's a go getter. she just loves what she does and she's so good at it and you know it's just part of her personality. that's how it's gotten where it's reached where it has. >> good job pedro. >> thank you. >> we came out here the first year to do santa and i don't know it just grew on us and we wanted to come back. >> good job peter. >> three, two, one. >> a 6-year-old girl. >> a girl, 12 and eight. >> it's been a very small community and then there was a flood a long time ago and a lot of families were put out. >> it was a scene of frantic desperation. hundreds of alvisa residents trying to save their homes from flooding. some people threw their bodies against the wall of the water trying to fight it back. >> we did see it on television. one of my daughter's her mother- in-law volunteered at the

library and asked us to come out at christmas, that is how it started. they knew we had a fantasy. >> seeing their faces light up when they see santa is just something that, it breaks me up. >> you can choose whatever you want. >> it gives us such satisfaction. a gift that i think keeps giving to all of us. >> ready, big smile. ho, ho, ho. >> merry christmas. >> for many faiths this is a season of reflection. hanukkah is an eight day jewish holiday also known as the festival of lights. one temple in san francisco takes the lights of the manora to the streets. we are introduced to the many faces of faith. >> reporter: the fourth night of hanukkah is the tipping

point of miracles. welcome, good evening. >> the menora is a question of balance as well. how we find ourselves in this world. dealing between our culture here in california, san francisco and our jewish tradition between our children and our ancestors. constantly in balance between work and life. the fourth night of hanukkah allows us to see miracles each and every day in the small difference that we make in this world that is often disregarded. >> one of the myths of hanukkah is to pursue amista. you have to publicize the event. >> this is a dream come true. >> this is from berma to berma superstar to b star to the genesis of this evening. >> we brought together -- put together a great dinner for us to celebrate hanukkah. >> fish and fries, we're going to have some mosa soup.

>> it's a fusion of different cultures. >> indian frata with some lotus chips. >> put his own twist on things and we love him and support him and here we are supporting a burmese food. >> when jews come together and celebrate hanukkah within the star by celebrating this festival of oil we create the miracle here. here in our culture in america in the 21st century i think a lot of these values that he talked about of hanukkah being an example to celebrate and ep brace cultural diversity while maintaining our own identities is really what we can be all about. that is the highest value of hawpe -- of hanukkah for me in this moment in this time. >> for some people a musical concert marks the beginning of

the holiday season. jacob jimenez shows us the family tradition that has provided the gift of music for many generations. >> it's kind of a language of itself. >> music is everything to me. >> what i love, love singing. >> music is such a healing and wonderful thing. >> my father perry phillip was a choir direction here started the concert 43 years ago. as a way for the choir to present different carols and music of the greek church to the public. when my father died in 1991 i was asked if i could continue to produce it and so my father did 21 years and i have now done 22 years and we've kept it

going and people look forward to it it starts the season. it's a way to showcase some of the great talent that's in our own community right here in our backyard. >> i mean it's always excellent to come together into a community and to sing with all different religions and all different types of music and it's a really great experience. >> even if you speak different languages you can speak through music in a really beautiful way. >> it helps to really bring the larger community together besides the orthodox community. then their friends come to and they have an opportunity to see our cathedral. >> it's amazing. the first time i saw this, it was just incredible. it's very ornate, very decorative. >> i constantly get the feed

back from people who say how much they appreciate it and that it's become a tradition and it gets their season started, you know what i mean. so it's a gift. it's a gift to give back. >> i do think of my mom. i always get a little emotion and i get choked up. that i just see that it's, just pleased that its still continued sort of in his spirit. >> there's something sort of magical about playing in a christmas concert. >> i think it's good to be there and listen to that and hear that. >> it's awesome to get the holiday season started with song. >> ♪ in the season of giving many people reach out to help others. photo journalist tony hadrick and dina munch introduce us to

a formerly homeless man who poetically expresses his hardship. his home has touched many lives and even owned him a spotlight in front of the united nations. >> in this sooty-soup, grit grain rain i have a need to lay down, let it all go. and tell you about a real poem. >> that is part of my life, writing. that poem just came to me. and i wrote it the way it came to me. >> every day, you see things that shouldn't be. because people are lacking love. >> that is why it's so important to have, to have people on the street who care about you. when you're out here at night and you're alone, it's a frightening feeling. >> i met him in line waiting for a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. and soon we were inseparable. where he walked i walked. >> and he took his blanket and came over to me and wrapped it

around my shoulders. i didn't know him, he didn't know me. but we were homeless together. and that made us brothers. >> either you surrender to your situation or you fight to get out of it and i'm just trying to fight my way back and feel like a human being again. >> when i was on the street, i didn't want you to throw money at me. i wanted you to sit down with me and have a cup of coffee and treat me like a human being. >> so let us not be demonized, stereo typed, let us not be

cast aside, marginalized, let us rise beyond the fear, let us rise above the sooty streets. >> i used to look at people that were homeless in the same way that people look at me. and i understand now what it's about. anybody could be in this position. >> whatever your name is, i am you, whatever language you were born into, i am you. i am in every postso that hungers for justice and to love. >> peace on earth and that everybody out there that are homeless will be able to find a place to be warm and have a good meal and be safe. >> the one thing i gained from being homeless was to love and the young selfishness of the people that shared that

experience with me. >> merry christmas to all the homeless people around the world and don't ever give up on life. because life is what comes at you and you have to take it as it comes. >> what does christmas mean to me? another day. just another day. look at you guys with your fancy-schmancy u-verse high speed internet. you know, in my day you couldn't just start streaming six ways to sunday. you'd get knocked off. and sometimes, it took a minute to download a song.

that's sixty seconds, for crying out loud. we know how long a minute is! sitting, waiting for an album to download. i still have back problems. you're only 14 and a half. he doesn't have back problems. you kids have got it too good if you ask me. [ male announcer ] now u-verse high speed internet has more speed options, reliability and ways to connect. rethink possible. the sights and sounds of the holiday draws thousands of people each year to san francisco. many people find a light in another san francisco treat.

as greg grenzell shows us this legendary attraction greets people right at the front door. >> taxi, taxi. >> welcome to sir frank jake. >> i got started back in 1976. i graduated from high school in san francisco. >> happy holidays, i see you. good to see you. >> how you doing. nice to see you. >> i've been through 32 uniforms. >> hi, how are you guys doing. >> 37 years, that's a lot. >> yeah, pretty good, huh. >> good to see you guys. >> all right, guys. >> taxi, okay i will give you one in a moment. >> okay here's a taxi for you. >> and you hail a lot of taxies up to 200 a day. you carry 200 to 1,000 suitcases. >> here you go. >> okay,. >> you want this back here? >> you need a taxi today? i'll get you a taxi. >> tom is the bomb. >> he is excellent. and i just -- i love to look at him. he's just so cute and he's always johnny on the spot.

>> how you doing, nice to see you. how's the season. >> look at his collar, look at his hat. he's a deck raeug. i would put him on my christmas tree any day. >> you get your photo taken up to 500 times a day so you have to look good every day on this job. >> thanks. >> let me get a picture with my puppy. good job. >> good job. >> i got voted the most photographed guy in san francisco. >> you're a legend in my mind. >> thanks. >> when we think of san francisco we think of tom. so walking down the street, get in the spirit of christmas and seeing tom here is real special for us. >> have a merry christmas. >> glad you came by. >> everybody knows he does that. then you know that you've, you know he's made my day. >> oh yeah, oh yeah. >> oh yeah. >> oh yeah. >> so funny i just go, taxi, taxi. or, oh, yeah, oh, yeah. >> you need like a three time mini series. >> start doing 20 years ago, now everybody does it.

>> oh, yeah. >> hey guys, oh, yeah, oh, yeah. >> all my friends in the san francisco police department and fire department come by. oh yeah. >> he makes everybody feel really special. >> they put my name on the ground here. it was unbelievable to get your hollywood walk of fame. i'm on dolls, water bottles, room keys. i wouldn't trade this job for anything. it's opened a lot of doors. tony blare asked me to hang out with him. i've shook hands with all the presidents. i run the beta breakers in it. i do parade in it. i've gotten a lot of mileage out of it. i used to come down with my parents and walk around union square. now i get paid to be here. >> you guys have a great holiday. thank you so much, bye bye. >> it's been said music can

tame a wild beast but can it also heal? paul sifeld shows us how a bay area hospital is using the power of music to help nurture the sick. >> ♪ >> it's never a good time to be in the hospital but the holidays just really accentuates that. it brings up a lot of issues not just for the patients but for the whole family. >> we can play really wonderful role with the music in that music is so tight into the holidays. >> music they are páeu -- music therapy is one of the therapies where it was all good. >> don't give up. never going to give up ♪, don't give up ♪ never going to give up ♪. >> we do a lot of song writing as you heard with jill.

and that's a wonderful medium for for patients to be able to send to their family members. >> the day i saw him he was in a lot of pain. very depressed. at the end of making the song, he was very proud of himself. he said that song is really about having gone to some very dark places and really faced the hardest times of his life ever and holding ton the hope and faith that he has from his family. >> ♪ don't give up, never going to give up ♪ >> music therapy is an amazing addition for the care we have for our patients. >> can turn a very traumatic and devastating experience into something that can actually be

quite healing. >> ♪ jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way ♪ >> with the music what i can say is it gives hope because the lyrics itself show people that you can still have fun, you can still have joy. it lets you take it easy right here in the hospital. it brings encouragement and inspiration. >> here again is photo journalist greg rinsel with christmas presents delivered not in a sleigh but on motorcycles. >> the event started 30 years ago. brad and his friend rick sitting in the their kitchen. and they had a run that left his shop they decided it would be a good idea to bring toys to the children of san quentin inmates. >> i'm very grateful that my higher power told me to do this for the kids that it's not

their fault that they don't have as much for us. that their dads aren't here to help them. >> it's overwhelming, it made me cry last year. >> i think the first time they started out with like 20 or 30 riders, last year we had about 350 bikes. the best moment of the joy run is the moment when all the rides are coming up the hill. and then they here the roar of the books they know santa is coming. you get to see the kids faces light up. >> merry christmas, how are you? >> hi. >> over here. look at the camera. >> merry christmas sweety. >> i'm feeling so excited. i can't even stop smiling. wait. let me try. no. no. i can't. >> merry christmas.

>> merry christmas. >> some kids don't get christmas because their fathers are inside so many times this is the only christmas they get. so it's a really great evident. >> yeah, do you love santa? >> yeah. >> i love you too. >> we all want to -- especially the kids we want them to have a chance at life. >> thank you. >> i can't wait to open this. >> i got a baby doll. >> they don't ask for much they just want to be loved. very emotional. the kids are terrific. very beautiful kids. they just steal your heart. >> thank you and merry christmas. you got this, right? i do got this. let us get everything off the shelf, and to your home.

wanted to be here for your fist christmas? you see grandma lives waaaay down here, and you live way up here. brian, your cousin, he's a little bit older than you, he lives here, in chicago. and your aunt lisa lives here, in baltimore. uncle earnie? waaay out in hawaii. but don't you worry, we will always be together for christmas. [ male announcer ] being together is the best part of the holidays and cheerios is happy to be part of the family. you just ate dallas!

and cheerios is happy to be part of the family. sofa... desk... you know what? why don't you go get some frozen yogurt. i got this. you're so sweet. you got this, right? i do got this. let us get everything off the shelf, and to your home. success could not be sweeter than at gregory's desserts. it's only open to the public for a couple of weeks. although the lines may be long especially this time of the

year the desserts are worth if wait. >> gregories. >> it started out with one person knocking on the window asking what the smell is. can i buy some cookies and from that day forward, word of mouth has just grown. >> in the first few years i used to stay up for three days because it was me just baking everything. three days in a row. and then my wife would carry my to the car because everything was like soar. i don't tell many people this but i used to cry because nobody would buy my cookies. >> it's so good going down, a moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips. >> rich. >> delectable. >> ravishing. >> scrumptious. >> for me, certain things just

taste good together. >> i like combinations of things. like peanut butter jelly and bacon when i was younger. the savoriness of the bacon against the peanut butter. >> it's a very happy place. the people are incredible and he has the most contagious smile. >> if all of this would have turned out just like this in day one, i don't think i would have appreciated it and my head would have gotten really big. >> we do make a key lime pie but all of the key lime pies are spoken for. >> i love the cookies. >> chocolate capuccino scones. >> this is the secret that gets everybody to come back. i'm just joking, just joking. >> it's really great to have an accomplishment like this that -- an establishment like this that is open to the public a couple of times a week that gives a sample of what they have to offer. >> i'm not a professional. >> don't do this at home.

>> merry christmas. >> it's time to hop on a train for our next story. photo journalist chip vahn catches a trip on the train as it catches a glimpse of santa claus along the way. >> ladies and gentlemen, roaring camp and the santa cruz boardwalk are proud to present the 14th annual santa cruz holiday lights train. >> ♪ tis the season to be jolly ♪ >> we started out here at the boardwalk in santa cruz. we head down beach street, we go through depot park and man with the bag meet it is train

there and his lovely wife, santa and mrs. claus board the train at depot park. they make their way from one end of the train to the other end of the train and spend some time with everyone on the train. >> ladies and gentlemen, may i present mr. and mrs. santa claus. >> merry christmas. ho, ho, ho. have all you kids been good this year. >> it's great. the kids have fun and santa and mrs. claus spend time with the kids. >> ♪ [jingle bells ] >> frosty the snow man was a jolly happy soul ♪ >> we got to go through the tunnel and it's very cool because we're on a train that's the polar express.

>> this captures like the true feeling of christmas. and they take the extra effort to decorate the train, we love it. >> it was awesome. >> ♪ [we wish you a merry christmas ] ♪ >> we hope you enjoyed our holiday program. from all of us here at ktvu we wish you and your family a merry christmas.